Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Reflection on Classroom Climate

Module 4 Unit 1 Activity 4

It is very important as a teacher to create a positive climate in the classroom where our students can effectively learn. When the classroom environment becomes an unpleasant, negative, or physically, mentally, or emotionally unsafe place, students cannot truly involve themselves in the learning process and it could possibly affect them in other areas of their lives outside of the classroom. It could cause them to behave in a destructive manor towards others, and perhaps even towards themselves.

On the flip side, a positive classroom environment where the teacher manages the classroom in a safe, creative, caring, and organized manner, it can facilitate the learning process for our students. It can help them acquire an unlimited amount of knowledge and become stable and mature members of society who contribute to others and to the world in an effective way.

In my own classes, I try to be a little stricter at the beginning of the school year as it is easier to later become a bit more lenient. Learning from trial and error, being more lenient and trying to become stricter later on is doable, but also a lot harder work from my part. As the year progresses, I like to get to know my students and their names (Marzano, 2007), make jokes and laugh (Marzano, 2007), and I really try to match what they are learning with something they are interested in (Marzano, 2007). Though my students have concerns with external factors and other areas of their lives, having a pleasant classroom environment in an organized way aids my students productively in their learning process.

Teachers who effectively manage their classrooms will organize their classrooms to promote lesson goals, pre-establish classroom rules, develop instructional routines, establish a system of incentives and consequences to certain behavior, and use low-profile classroom management to maintain instructional momentum (Borich, 2011).

The last point is one that I frequently use. If there is a small incident or misbehavior in the classroom such as talking, not following directions, instead of losing time and momentum by stopping and addressing their behavior, I will just try a simple technique like walking by them, or making eye contact with them, and usually my students will stop their disruptions on their own. Punishing students even for small incidents can really cause a negative classroom climate, so for me using low-profile classroom management techniques have been really effective. Other bigger incidents such as bullying will however not be tolerated in my classrooms as the safety of my students always comes first.

There is also no one behavioral setting, classroom arrangement and single set of rules that’s will work for every teacher to manage their own classroom (Borich, 2011). I observe my classrooms first and see what best suits or works for my students in those classes. In some of my classes I need to make some rules to motivate my students to participate more (as I teach an English conversation class) but in other classes, I do not need to enforce any rules about participation as the class is always having great conversations. I also sometimes make my student’s make their own rules at the beginning of the year and it is really surprising how responsible they are. This make the classroom climate positive as it feels more like they feel mature and responsible for coming up with their own rules, as opposed as feeling like I am dictating what they should or shouldn’t do.

When it comes to learning in my class, I prefer a more student centered approach. I try to relate every lesson to their lives, culture, age, and especially interests (Marzano, 2007). When the students can relate to the material and also understand why and what they are learning it for, it makes more sense to them.  When that is interlaced with something they are interested in, it makes the class more enjoyable and makes the learning process less tedious. When Gangnam Style was very big, I used a PowerPoint game using that theme to learn new words. It was very successful in the class, but my surprise came in the midterms when the section that they learned was where they had least mistakes.

In summation, all my students are individuals that I really care about. Having a positive classroom climate really makes a difference for not only my students but also for me as a teacher and an individual. Without knowing my students or caring about them, I don’t really think I could be an effective teacher. I know it takes a lot of patience to be an educator, and sometimes classes don’t always go as one plans, but classroom management is about adjusting undesired behaviors, and it is not about changing our students.

References:

Borich, Gary D. (2011). Observation Skills for Effective Teaching. Boston, MA: Pearson Education. Inc.

Curwin, R. (2014, February 4). Classroom Management: The Intervention Two-Step. Retrieved July 24, 2014, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/classroom-management-intervention-two-step-richard-curwin?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=blog-two-step-classroom-intervention-link-repost

Marzano, Robert J. (2007). The Art and Science of Teaching: A Comprehensive Framework for Effective Instruction.  Alexandria, VA: ASCD.